Women's Knowledge of Pelvic Floor Disorders and Its Determinants in the Gurage Zone, Central Ethiopia: A Community-Based Cross-Sectional Study.

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Abstract
IntroductionPelvic floor disorders (PFDs) are common conditions that negatively affect women's quality of life, particularly in low-resource settings where awareness is often limited. Although knowledge of PFDs remains low in many developing settings, evidence from Ethiopia is limited, and the extent and determinants of women's knowledge have not been well explored. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the knowledge of pelvic floor disorders and its determinants among women in Gurage Zone, Central Ethiopia.MethodsA community-based cross-sectional study design was utilized, employing a multistage sampling technique to select 844 women. Data were collected through face-to-face, interviewer-administered questionnaires. The data were entered into EpiData version 3.1 and exported to SPSS version 26 for analysis. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to identify factors associated with knowledge of pelvic floor disorders (PFDs). Statistical significance was declared at a p-value of less than 0.05 with a 95% confidence interval (CI).ResultsIn this study, the overall prevalence of women's knowledge of pelvic floor disorders was found to be 40.5% (95% CI: 37.1, 43.7). Higher educational status (AOR = 3.28; 95% CI: 2.02, 7.54), being an urban resident (AOR = 2.51; 95% CI: 1.37, 14.03), being multiparous (AOR = 2.43; 95% CI: 1.08, 5.47), being grand multiparous (AOR = 4.21; 95% CI: 1.81, 11.1), and having awareness of pelvic organ prolapse (POP) as a medical condition (AOR = 2.91; 95% CI: 1.57, 5.40) were identified as determinants of women's knowledge of pelvic floor disorders.ConclusionOnly two in five women were knowledgeable about PFD in this study area, which is considered low. These findings underscore the need for targeted educational interventions to bridge knowledge gaps, particularly among populations with lower educational attainment and those living in rural areas.

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